Method and apparatus for transmitting and receiving uplink control information

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for transmitting and receiving uplink control information. The method includes: determining a channel access type of an uplink control channel used for transmitting uplink control information by a terminal equipment; and detecting a channel according to the channel access type and transmitting the uplink control information to a network device after the channel is detected as being idle, or not detecting a channel according to the channel access type and transmitting the uplink control information to the network device. Hence, in some scenarios, uplink control information may be transmitted without detecting a channel, which may lower latency and improve transmission efficiency; and in some other scenarios, uplink control information may be transmitted after the channel is detected as being idle, which may avoid or lower interference and improve reliability of transmission.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation application of InternationalApplication PCT/CN2019/070971 filed on Jan. 9, 2019 and designated theU.S., the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates to the field of communication technologies, andin particular to a method and apparatus for transmitting and receivinguplink control information.

BACKGROUND

A New Radio (NR) system of Release 15 is similar to a Long TermEvolution (LTE) system, which also needs uplink control information(UCI) to support data transmission in uplink/downlink transmissionchannels. The uplink control information generally includes hybridautomatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback information (such as ACK/NACK),channel state information (CSI), and a scheduling request (SR). The UCIis generally carried in a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) andtransmitted. If uplink data are scheduled simultaneously in apredetermined transmission slot, that is, when a physical uplink sharedchannel (PUSCH) needs to be transmitted and the PUSCH and one or moreresources determined to transmit the PUCCH overlap in time, the UCI willbe transmitted on the PUSCH at the slot according to a predefined rule.

The HARQ feedback information is acknowledgement information used toindicate whether a downlink transport block received by a terminalequipment needs to be retransmitted and transmitted by the terminalequipment (or referred to as a user equipment) to a network device (suchas a base station). For example, downlink control information (DCI)scheduling a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) includes threefields related to the HARQ feedback information.

The first field is “HARQ process number”, which is used to indicate theHARQ process number; as it is possible that there may exist multiplePDSCHs awaiting an HARQ feedback or retransmission process duringcommunication, the network device and the terminal equipment may make anagreement on a relationship between HARQ feedback or retransmission andinitially transmitted PDSCHs via the HARQ process number.

The second field is “PDSCH-to-HARQ_feedback timing indicator”, in whichthe terminal equipment determines a slot for transmitting the HARQfeedback information of the PDSCH, that is, a value of this fieldindicates the number of slot offsets of the slot of the terminalequipment for feeding back the HARQ relative to a slot where a lastsymbol of the scheduled PDSCH is located; when the DCI is of format 1_0,a 3-bit value of this field corresponds to slots {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,8}, respectively; and when the DCI is of format 1_1, if the field isincluded, a parameter “dl-DataToUL-ACK” in radio resource control (RRC)signaling is used to configure slot numbers corresponding to indicatorvalues of the field, and if this field is not included, the number ofslot offsets fed back by HARQ is a value configured by the RRCsignaling.

The third field is “PUCCH resource indicator”, which is used to indicatea PUCCH resource used to carry HARQ feedback information at the slot forfeeding back the HARQ, the PUCCH resource being one of multiple PUCCHresources configured by the RRC signaling.

CSI reporting may be divided into periodic reporting, semi-persistentreporting and non-periodic reporting. Periodic CSI is transmitted on aPUCCH. Semi-persistent CSI may be configured to be transmitted on aPUCCH or PUSCH, for example, it may be configured on a PUCCH andactivated by a media access control (MAC) control element (CE), and thenstart to transmit on PUCCH in a certain period, and it may also beconfigured on the PUSCH and activated by DCI scrambled by anSP-CSI-RNTI, and then transmitted on the PUSCH in a certain period. Thenon-periodic CSI is triggered by a “CSI request” in uplink schedulinggranted DCI, and then transmitted on the a PUSCH indicated by the DCI.

The SR is only transmitted on the PUCCH, and the network device mayconfigure the terminal equipment with periodic PUCCH resources fortransmitting the SR via RRC signaling.

It should be noted that the above description of the background ismerely provided for clear and complete explanation of this disclosureand for easy understanding by those skilled in the art. And it shouldnot be understood that the above technical solution is known to thoseskilled in the art as it is described in the background of thisdisclosure.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

It was found by the inventors that in LTE LAA, although the uplinktransmission of the unlicensed band is introduced from Release 14, itonly supports transmission of PUSCHs but does not support transmissionof PUCCHs. In UCI, only CSI may be transmitted on a PUSCH of a cell ofan unlicensed spectrum, and HARQ feedback information and SR are onlyallowed to be transmitted in a cell of the licensed spectrum. In a workproject of NR-based access to unlicensed spectrum (NR-U), a scenariowhere independent operation of an NR-U cell is supported, and in thisscenario, all HARQ feedback information, SR and CSI need to betransmitted on an unlicensed spectrum.

However, in order to ensure fairness of utilization of unlicensedspectrum, a transmitting device needs to perform listen before talk(LBT), that is, detecting whether a channel (hereinafter referred to aschannel detection) is idle before transmitting information, andinformation may only be transmitted when the channel is deemed as beingidle. In addition, when a device occupies a channel via channeldetection, it may share the occupied channel time with another device,and when an interval between information transmitted by the two devicesis less than a threshold, a device sharing a channel time of anotherdevice may directly transmit information without performing channeldetection. UCI is very important to ensuring correct transmission ofuplink and downlink data. What method a terminal equipment is to use toaccess to a channel before transmitting a PUCCH and how the terminalequipment determines a channel access method used before transmittingthe PUCCH become problem to be solved.

Addressed to at least one of the above problems, embodiments of thisdisclosure provide a method and apparatus for transmitting and receivinguplink control information.

According to a first aspect of the embodiments of this disclosure, thereis provided a method for transmitting uplink control information,including:

determining, by a terminal equipment, a channel access type of an uplinkcontrol channel used for transmitting uplink control information, thechannel access type including at least one of the following: a firstchannel access type not performing channel detection, a second channelaccess type containing a detection interval, a third channel access typecontaining a detection interval and a contention window; and

detecting a channel by the terminal equipment according to the channelaccess type and transmitting the uplink control information to a networkdevice after the channel is detected as being idle, or not detecting achannel according to the channel access type and transmitting the uplinkcontrol information to the network device.

According to a second aspect of the embodiments of this disclosure,there is provided an apparatus for transmitting uplink controlinformation, including:

a determining unit configured to determine a channel access type of anuplink control channel used for transmitting uplink control information,the channel access type including at least one of the following: a firstchannel access type not performing channel detection, a second channelaccess type containing a detection interval, a third channel access typecontaining a detection interval and a contention window; and

a transmitting unit configured to detect a channel according to thechannel access type and transmit the uplink control information to anetwork device after the channel is detected as being idle, or not todetect a channel according to the channel access type and transmit theuplink control information to the network device.

According to a third aspect of the embodiments of this disclosure, thereis provided a method for receiving uplink control information,including:

receiving, by a network device, uplink control information transmittedby a terminal equipment, the uplink control information beingtransmitted after the terminal equipment performs channel detectionaccording to a channel access type of the uplink control channel and thechannel is detected as being idle, or being transmitted withoutperforming channel detection according to the channel access type;

the channel access type including at least one of the following: a firstchannel access type not performing channel detection, a second channelaccess type containing a detection interval, a third channel access typecontaining a detection interval and a contention window.

According to a fourth aspect of the embodiments of this disclosure,there is provided an apparatus for receiving uplink control information,including:

a receiving unit configured to receive uplink control informationtransmitted by a terminal equipment, the uplink control informationbeing transmitted after the terminal equipment performs channeldetection according to a channel access type of the uplink controlchannel and the channel is detected as being idle, or being transmittedwithout performing channel detection according to the channel accesstype;

the channel access type including at least one of the following: a firstchannel access type not performing channel detection, a second channelaccess type containing a detection interval, a third channel access typecontaining a detection interval and a contention window.

According to a fifth aspect of the embodiments of this disclosure, thereis provided a communication system, including:

a terminal equipment configured to determine a channel access type of anuplink control channel used for transmitting uplink control information,and transmit the uplink control information to a network device afterchannel detection is performed according to the channel access type thechannel is detected as being idle, or not to detect a channel accordingto the channel access type and transmit the uplink control informationto the network device; and

a network device configured to receive the uplink control informationtransmitted by the terminal equipment; wherein the channel access typeincludes at least one of the following: a first channel access type notperforming channel detection, a second channel access type containing adetection interval, a third channel access type containing a detectioninterval and a contention window.

An advantage of the embodiments of this disclosure exists in that theterminal equipment determines a channel access type of an uplink controlchannel used for transmitting uplink control information, and detects achannel according to the channel access type and transmits the uplinkcontrol information to a network device after the channel is detected asbeing idle, or does not detect a channel according to the channel accesstype and transmits the uplink control information to the network device.Hence, in some scenarios, uplink control information may be transmittedwithout detecting a channel, which may lower latency and improvetransmission efficiency; and in some other scenarios, uplink controlinformation may be transmitted after the channel is detected as beingidle, which may avoid or lower interference and improve reliability oftransmission.

With reference to the following description and drawings, the particularembodiments of this disclosure are disclosed in detail, and theprinciple of this disclosure and the manners of use are indicated. Itshould be understood that the scope of the embodiments of thisdisclosure is not limited thereto. The embodiments of this disclosurecontain many alternations, modifications and equivalents within thescope of the terms of the appended claims.

Features that are described and/or illustrated with respect to oneembodiment may be used in the same way or in a similar way in one ormore other embodiments and/or in combination with or instead of thefeatures of the other embodiments.

It should be emphasized that the term “comprise/include” when used inthis specification is taken to specify the presence of stated features,integers, steps or components but does not preclude the presence oraddition of one or more other features, integers, steps, components orgroups thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Elements and features depicted in one drawing or embodiment of thedisclosure may be combined with elements and features depicted in one ormore additional drawings or embodiments. Moreover, in the drawings, likereference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the severalviews and may be used to designate like or similar parts in more thanone embodiment.

FIG. 1 is schematic diagram of a communication system of an embodimentof this disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the method for transmitting uplinkcontrol information of an embodiment of this disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a method for transmitting and receivinguplink control information of an embodiment of this disclosure;

FIG. 4 is another schematic diagram of the method for transmitting andreceiving uplink control information of the embodiment of thisdisclosure;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the information indication method of anembodiment of this disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of generating interference by a hiddennode of the embodiment of this disclosure;

FIG. 7 is another schematic diagram of the information indication methodof the embodiment of this disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of the method for transmitting uplinkcontrol information of an embodiment of this disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of the method for receiving uplink controlinformation of an embodiment of this disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of the apparatus for transmitting uplinkcontrol information of an embodiment of this disclosure;

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of the apparatus for receiving uplinkcontrol information of an embodiment of this disclosure;

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of the network device of an embodiment ofthis disclosure; and

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of the terminal equipment of anembodiment of this disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE

These and further aspects and features of this disclosure will beapparent with reference to the following description and attacheddrawings. In the description and drawings, particular embodiments of thedisclosure have been disclosed in detail as being indicative of some ofthe ways in which the principles of the disclosure may be employed, butit is understood that the disclosure is not limited correspondingly inscope. Rather, the disclosure includes all changes, modifications andequivalents coming within the terms of the appended claims.

In the embodiments of this disclosure, terms “first”, and “second”,etc., are used to differentiate different elements with respect tonames, and do not indicate spatial arrangement or temporal orders ofthese elements, and these elements should not be limited by these terms.Terms “and/or” include any one and all combinations of one or morerelevantly listed terms. Terms “contain”, “include” and “have” refer toexistence of stated features, elements, components, or assemblies, butdo not exclude existence or addition of one or more other features,elements, components, or assemblies.

In the embodiments of this disclosure, single forms “a”, and “the”,etc., include plural forms, and should be understood as “a kind of” or“a type of” in a broad sense, but should not defined as a meaning of“one”; and the term “the” should be understood as including both asingle form and a plural form, except specified otherwise. Furthermore,the term “according to” should be understood as “at least partiallyaccording to”, the term “based on” should be understood as “at leastpartially based on”, except specified otherwise.

In the embodiments of this disclosure, the term “communication network”or “wireless communication network” may refer to a network satisfyingany one of the following communication standards: long term evolution(LTE), long term evolution-advanced (LTE-A), wideband code divisionmultiple access (WCDMA), and high-speed packet access (HSPA), etc.

And communication between devices in a communication system may beperformed according to communication protocols at any stage, which may,for example, include but not limited to the following communicationprotocols: 1G (generation), 2G, 2.5G, 2.75G, 3G, 4G, 4.5G, and 5G andnew radio (NR) in the future, etc., and/or other communication protocolsthat are currently known or will be developed in the future.

In the embodiments of this disclosure, the term “network device”, forexample, refers to an equipment in a communication system that accessesa terminal equipment to the communication network and provides servicesfor the terminal equipment. The network device may include but notlimited to the following equipment: a base station (BS), an access point(AP), a transmission reception point (TRP), a broadcast transmitter, amobile management entity (MME), a gateway, a server, a radio networkcontroller (RNC), a base station controller (BSC), etc.

The base station may include but not limited to a node B (NodeB or NB),an evolved node B (eNodeB or eNB), and a 5G base station (gNB), etc.Furthermore, it may include a remote radio head (RRH), a remote radiounit (RRU), a relay, or a low-power node (such as a femto, and a pico,etc.). The term “base station” may include some or all of its functions,and each base station may provide communication coverage for a specificgeographical area. And a term “cell” may refer to a base station and/orits coverage area, which may be expressed as a serving cell, and may bea macro cell or a pico cell, depending on a context of the term.

In the embodiments of this disclosure, the term “user equipment (UE)” or“terminal equipment (TE) or terminal device” refers to, for example,equipment accessing to a communication network and receiving networkservices via a network device. The terminal equipment may be fixed ormobile, and may also be referred to as a mobile station (MS), aterminal, a subscriber station (SS), an access terminal (AT), or astation, etc.

The terminal equipment may include but not limited to the followingdevices: a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), awireless modem, a wireless communication device, a hand-held device, amachine-type communication device, a lap-top, a cordless telephone, asmart cell phone, a smart watch, and a digital camera, etc.

For another example, in a scenario of the Internet of Things (IoT),etc., the user equipment may also be a machine or a device performingmonitoring or measurement. For example, it may include but not limitedto a machine-type communication (MTC) terminal, a vehicle mountedcommunication terminal, a device to device (D2D) terminal, and a machineto machine (M2M) terminal, etc.

Moreover, the term “network side” or “network device side” refers to aside of a network, which may be a base station, and may include one ormore network devices described above. The term “user side” or “terminalside” or “terminal equipment side” refers to a side of a user or aterminal, which may be a UE, and may include one or more terminalequipments described above.

Scenarios in the embodiments of this disclosure shall be described belowby way of examples; however, this disclosure is not limited thereto.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system of an embodimentof this disclosure, in which a case where a terminal equipment and anetwork device are taken as examples is schematically shown. As shown inFIG. 1, a communication system 100 may include a network device 101 anda terminal equipment 102. For the sake of simplicity, description isgiven in FIG. 1 by taking one terminal equipment and one network deviceas an example; however, this embodiment is not limited thereto.

In the embodiment of this disclosure, existing traffics or traffics thatmay be implemented in the future may be performed between the networkdevice 101 and the terminal equipment 102. For example, such trafficsmay include but not limited to enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), massivemachine type communication (MTC), and ultra-reliable and low-latencycommunication (URLLC), etc.

Embodiment 1

The embodiments of this disclosure provide a method for transmittinguplink control information, which shall be described from a terminalequipment (i.e. a side where uplink control information is transmitted,which may also be referred to as a user equipment) side.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the method for transmitting uplinkcontrol information of the embodiment of this disclosure, which shall bedescribed from a terminal equipment side. As shown in FIG. 2, the methodincludes:

step 201: a terminal equipment determines a channel access type of anuplink control channel used for transmitting uplink control information,the channel access type including at least one of the following: a firstchannel access type not performing channel detection, a second channelaccess type containing a detection interval, a third channel access typecontaining a detection interval and a contention window; and

step 202: the terminal equipment detects a channel according to thechannel access type and transmitting the uplink control information to anetwork device after the channel is detected as being idle, or does notdetect a channel according to the channel access type and transmittingthe uplink control information to the network device.

In an embodiment, the uplink control information is transmitted by usingan unlicensed spectrum; however, this disclosure is not limited thereto,and it may also be applicable to a scenario of a licensed spectrum. Inaddition, there is no strict distinction between “channel” and“information” in this disclosure. For example, “an uplink controlchannel” may refer to a PUCCH carrying UCI, or may refer to UCI.Transmitting uplink control information may be referred to astransmitting an uplink control channel, and receiving uplink controlinformation may also be referred to as receiving an uplink controlchannel; for example, “transmitting uplink control channel” may beunderstood as “transmitting UCI by a UE to a base station via a PUCCH”,and “receiving an uplink control channel” may be understood as“receiving UCI transmitted by a UE by a base station via a PUCCH”.

It should be noted that FIG. 2 only schematically illustrates theembodiment of this disclosure; however, this disclosure is not limitedthereto. For example, an order of execution of the steps may beappropriately adjusted, and furthermore, some other steps may be added,or some steps therein may be reduced. And appropriate variants may bemade by those skilled in the art according to the above contents,without being limited to what is contained in FIG. 2.

In an embodiment, the first channel access type not performing channeldetection may indicate that the information is directly transmittedwithout detecting whether the channel is idle. The detection intervalincluded in the second channel access type may be, for example, 25 us,that is, the second channel access type may indicate that whether thechannel is idle is detected within the detection interval of 25 us, andif the channel is detected as being idle, the transmitting devicetransmits the information immediately after the detection interval; andif it is detected as being busy, the information is not transmitted. Andthe third channel access type may indicate that the channel is detectedwithin a detection interval (such as 25 us) included in the thirdchannel access type, if it is determined to be idle, continue to detecta time of a contention window, and if it is still idle, the transmittingdevice transmits the information; otherwise, the information is nottransmitted. For example, the contention window may include at least onetime interval and a counter is used for counting. An initial value ofthe counter is equal to the number of time intervals included in thecontention window, and when a time interval is detected as being idle,the counter is subtracted by 1, otherwise, the channel is deemed asbeing busy; and after the counter is subtracted to 0, it is deemed thatthe channel is idle and information may be transmitted.

It should be noted that the channel access types in the embodiment ofthis disclosure are illustrated above only; however, this disclosure isnot limited thereto. For example, the time interval is not limited to 25us, or the time interval (detection interval) and/or time window(contention window) is/are set to be multiple, hence, more than threechannel access types may be included.

In an embodiment, the terminal equipment may receive configurationinformation used for configuring or reconfiguring the channel accesstypes transmitted by the network device.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a method for transmitting and receivinguplink control information of the embodiment of this disclosure, whichshall be described from a transmission side and a reception side. Asshown in FIG. 3, the method includes:

step 301: a network device transmits configuration information used forconfiguring or reconfiguring the channel access types to a terminalequipment;

step 302: the terminal equipment determines a channel access type of anuplink control channel used for transmitting uplink control information;

for example, the channel access type is the second channel access typeor the third channel access type;

step 303: the terminal equipment performs channel detection according tothe channel access type; and

step 304: the terminal equipment transmits the uplink controlinformation to the network device after detecting that the channel isidle.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a method for transmitting and receivinguplink control information of the embodiment of this disclosure, whichshall be described from a transmission side and a reception side. Asshown in FIG. 4, the method includes:

step 401: the network device transmits configuration information usedfor configuring or reconfiguring channel access types to the terminalequipment;

step 402: the terminal equipment determines a channel access type of theuplink control channel used for transmitting the uplink controlinformation;

for example, the channel access type is the first channel access type;

step 403: the terminal equipment does not detect a channel according tothe channel access type and transmits the uplink control information tothe network device.

It should be noted that FIGS. 3 and 4 only schematically illustrate theembodiment of this disclosure; however, this disclosure is not limitedthereto. For example, an order of execution of the steps may beappropriately adjusted, and furthermore, some other steps may be added,or some steps therein may be reduced. And appropriate variants may bemade by those skilled in the art according to the above contents,without being limited to what are contained in FIGS. 3 and 4.

In an embodiment, the configuration information is transmitted via asystem message and/or radio resource control (RRC) signaling. Thechannel access types may be configured via the system message, or thechannel access types may be configured via UE-specific PUCCHconfiguration signaling; or the channel access types may be configuredvia the system message, and the channel access type may be reconfiguredvia UE-specific PUCCH configuration signaling.

For example, a system information block 1 (SIB1) transmitted by thenetwork device includes a parameter ‘PUCCH-channelaccesstype’, which isused to configure the terminal equipment receiving the SIB1 with achannel access type for transmitting a PUCCH; the terminal equipmenttransmits the PUCCH by using the channel access type configured by thisparameter; in addition, a change of the PUCCH channel access type mayalso be indicated by the parameter in SIB1.

In an embodiment, a parameter may be included in RRC signaling toindicate a channel access type of the terminal equipment in transmittinga PUCCH.

For example, UE-specific PUCCH configuration includes a parameter‘channelaccesstype’ indicating the channel access type of the terminalequipment in transmitting the PUCCH. For example, it indicates thesecond channel access type with a detection interval of 25 us. After theRRC signaling takes effect, the terminal equipment transmits the PUCCHby using the second channel access type with a detection interval of 25us.

For another example, when the terminal equipment does not have specificPUCCH configuration, that is, the network device has not configuredspecific PUCCH configuration for the terminal equipment or before thePUCCH configuration takes effect, the terminal equipment transmits thePUCCH by using a default channel access type, and the default channelaccess type may be the third channel access type (i.e. the third channelaccess type with a minimal initial value of the counter) having ahighest priority and containing a detection interval and a contentionwindow, or the default channel access type is the second channel accesstype with a detection interval of 25 us. Or, when the terminal equipmentdoes not have specific PUCCH configuration, the network deviceconfigures the terminal equipment with a channel access type fortransmitting the PUCCH.

For a further example, the UE-specific PUCCH configuration may be‘PUCCH-config’ in NR, that is, ‘PUCCH-config’ is commonly used inlicensed and unlicensed spectrum, then a channel access type parameter‘channelaccesstype’ is configured only when a cell is a cell of anunlicensed spectrum, the channel access type parameter being aconditional optional parameter. Or, this parameter will only beconfigured when a format of the unlicensed spectrum is configured in‘PUCCH-config’; for example, format 5 is a PUCCH format type used by anNR unlicensed spectrum, then when format 5 is configured in‘PUCCH-config’, the parameter ‘channelaccesstype’ will be configured in‘PUCCH-config’. Or, the NR unlicensed spectrum does not have a specificformat type but reuses a format type in NR, when a format is configuredin the NR unlicensed spectrum, the parameter ‘channelaccesstype’ will beconfigured; for example, format 2 is configured as a PUCCH transmissionformat of an unlicensed spectrum, then the network device will configurethe parameter ‘channelaccesstype’ for the terminal equipment.

Table 1 below exemplarily shows situations where the ‘PUCCH-config’configuration is commonly used in a licensed spectrum and an unlicensedspectrum.

TABLE 1 PUCCH-Config ::=          SEQUENCE {   resource SetToAddModList SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..maxNrofPUCCH-Resource Sets)) OF PUCCH-ResourceSetOPTIONAL,  -- Need N   resourceSetToReleaseList  SEQUENCE (SIZE(1..maxNrofPUCCH-Resource Sets)) OF PUCCH-Resource SetId OPTIONAL,  --Need N   resourceToAddModList    SEQUENCE (SIZE(1..maxNrofPUCCH-Resources)) OF PUCCH-Resource OPTIONAL,  -- Need N  resourceToReleaseList    SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..maxNrofPUCCH-Resources))OF PUCCH-ResourceId OPTIONAL,  -- Need N   format1  SetupRelease {PUCCH-FormatConfig }     OPTIONAL,  -- Need M   format2  SetupRelease {PUCCH-FormatConfig }     OPTIONAL,  -- Need M   format3  SetupRelease {PUCCH-FormatConfig }     OPTIONAL,  -- Need M   format4  SetupRelease {PUCCH-FormatConfig }     OPTIONAL,  -- Need M  format5-NRU SetupRelease{ PUCCH-FormatConfig }    OPTIONAL,  --Need M  channelaccesstype-NRU CHOICE {type1, type2, type3}  Optional,  --Cond NR-U-----------------------------Others areomitted----------------------------   ... }

For still another example, the UE-specific PUCCH configuration may alsobe PUCCH configuration specific for an unlicensed spectrum, such as‘PUCCH-configNRU’.

Table 2 below exemplarily shows a situation of PUCCH configurationspecific for an unlicensed spectrum.

TABLE 2 PUCCH-ConfigNRU ::=           SEQUENCE { format-NRU SetupRelease { PUCCH-FormatConfig }  OPTIONAL,  --Need M channelaccesstype-NRU  CHOICE {type1, type2, type3}-----------------------------Others areomitted---------------------------- }

In an embodiment, a channel access type may be configured orreconfigured for at least one PUCCH resource via RRC signaling. At leasttwo PUCCH resources are independently configured with the channel accesstype respectively, or formats of at least two PUCCH resources areindependently configured with the channel access type separately.

For example, “PUCCH-resource” contains configuration of a channel accesstype, and when the terminal equipment uses a PUCCH resource to transmitthe PUCCH, a channel access type configured in “PUCCH-resource” is usedto transmit the PUCCH. For example, in the configuration of SR or CSIreporting, a PUCCH resource is configured via ‘PUCCH-ResourceId’ for thePUCCH transmitting the SR or CSI, and the channel access type configuredin ‘PUCCH-resource’ configuration of this resource is the second channelaccess type with a detection interval of 25 us, then the terminalequipment uses the second channel access type with a detection intervalof 25 us in transmitting the PUCCH carrying the SR or CSI by using thePUCCH resource. The PUCCH resource of the HARQ feedback information maybe indicated according to a field “PUCCH resource indicator” in the DCIand determined according to a size of the UCI. After determining a PUCCHresource, the channel access type is determined according to theconfiguration information.

Table 3 exemplarily shows a situation of configuring a channel accesstype in ‘PUCCH-resource’.

TABLE 3 PUCCH-Resource ::=  SEQUENCE {   pucch-ResourceId  PUCCH-ResourceId,   startingPRB   PRB-Id,   channelaccesstype  CHOICE{type1, type2, type3}  intraSlotFrequencyHopping ENUMERATED { enabled} OPTIONAL, -- Need R   secondHopPRB    PRB-Id        OPTIONAL, -- NeedR   format   CHOICE {    format0     PUCCH-format0,    format1    PUCCH-format1,    format2     PUCCH-format2,    format3    PUCCH-format3,    format4     PUCCH-format4    formatX(or formatNRU)  PUCCH-formatX(or PUCCH-formatNRU)   } }

For yet another example, as a PUCCH resource has only one format type,the channel access type may also be configured in format configurationcontained in the PUCCH resource.

Table 4 exemplarily shows a situation of configuring a channel accesstype in ‘PUCCH-formatX’.

TABLE 4 PUCCH-formatX(or PUCCH-formatNRU) ::= SEQUENCE { channelaccesstype CHOICE {typel, type2, type3}  nrofSymbols   INTEGER(1..2),  startingSymbolIndex  INTEGER(0..13)-----------------------------Others areomitted---------------------------- }

In an embodiment, the channel access type may be determined at leastaccording to a format and/or duration of a PUCCH resource. That is, aconfigurable channel access type may be limited according to the formatof the PUCCH resource, or a configurable channel access type may belimited according to the duration of the PUCCH resource.

For example, a PUCCH format with a short duration (such as less than 3OFDM symbols) may be configured with the first channel access typewithout performing channel detection or the second channel access typewith a detection interval of 25 us; and a PUCCH format with a longduration (such as greater than or equal to 3 OFDM symbols) may beconfigured with the second channel access type with a detection intervalof 25 us or the third channel access type including a detection intervaland a contention window, but may not be configured with the firstchannel access type without performing channel detection, because thefirst channel access type without performing channel detection needsthat the network device shares the occupied channel with the terminaldevice after accessing to the channel, so that the terminal equipmentmay directly transmit the uplink information without performing channeldetection. However, if the terminal equipment performing no channeldetection occupies the channel for a long time, it will affect thefairness of accessing to the channel by surrounding devices. Therefore,it is necessary to specify that uplink information (at least one of datainformation, control information, a PUSCH, a PUCCH) occupying a channelfor a long time shall not access to the channel without performingchannel detection.

For another example, a configurable duration of PUCCH format 2 is 0, 1and 2 symbols, and a channel occupation time is short after accessing tothe channel, hence, the first channel access type without performingchannel detection or the second channel access type with a detectioninterval of 25 us may be configured. A configurable duration of PUCCHformat 3 is within a range of 4-14 symbols, and a maximum time lengthneeded in occupying the channel after accessing to the channel is 1 ms.Therefore, the PUCCH resource of this format may only be configured withthe second channel access type with a detection interval of 25 us or thethird channel access type including a detection interval and acontention window.

Table 5 exemplarily shows a situation where a channel access type islimited according to a format.

TABLE 5 PUCCH-format2 ::=  SEQUENCE {  channelaccesstype CHOICE {type1,type2}   nrofSymbols   INTEGER (1..2),  startingSymbolIndex INTEGER(0..13) -----------------------------Others areomitted---------------------------- } PUCCH-format3 ::=  SEQUENCE {  channelaccesstype CHOICE {type2, type3}  nrofSymbols   INTEGER(4..14),   startingSymbolIndex  INTEGER(0..10)-----------------------------Others areomitted---------------------------- }

For a further example, when the duration of the PUCCH resource is lessthan a predefined value, the first channel access type withoutperforming channel detection may be configured, and when the duration isgreater than the predefined value, the first channel access type withoutperforming channel detection may not be configured. Wherein, thepredefined value may be a time interval in units of number of symbols,that is, the number of symbols independent of a subcarrier spacing, suchas 6 orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols; and thepredefined value may also be an absolute time interval, which may bereflected by numbers of subcarrier spacings (SCSs) and symbols. Forexample, the predefined value is 0.5 ms, the number of OFDM symbols at asubcarrier spacing of 15 kHz is 7, the number of OFDM symbols at asubcarrier spacing of 30 kHz is 14, and the number of OFDM symbols at asubcarrier spacing of 60 kHz is 28. After the terminal equipmentreceives the RRC signaling of the network device, it may determine theconfigured channel access type according to the subcarrier spacing andconfiguration information of the PUCCH resource.

In an embodiment, the channel access type adopted by the PUCCH carryingat least one type of UCI may be configured or reconfigured for the atleast one type of UCI via RRC signaling, the UCI including at least oneor more types of the following: HARQ feedback information, CSI, SR;wherein at least two types of UCI are independently configured with thechannel access type.

For example, since functions and periods of the SR, CSI and HARQ in theUCI are different, the manner for configuring channel access types mayalso be configuring respective channel access modes for the SR, CSI, andHARQ. A parameter (such channelaccess-SR) for configuring the channelaccess type may be added into the resource configurationSchedulingRequestResourceConfig, and the channel access type may beconfigured for the PUCCH carrying the SR. A parameter (such aschannelaccess-CSI) may be added into the CSI report configuration‘CSI-ReportConfig’ to configure the channel access type used when theCSI is carried by the PUCCH. A parameter may be added into the PUCCHconfiguration to configure the channel access type for the PUCCHcarrying the HARQ feedback information; this parameter may bechannelaccess-ACK, a size of this parameter is identical to a size ofdl-DataToUL-ACK, and corresponds thereto in a one-to-one manner. When a‘PDSCH-to-HARQ_feedback timing indicator’ field in the DCI schedulingthe PDSCH indicates an HARQ feedback slot interval configured by‘dl-DataToUL-ACK’, according to a sequence of the slot interval in‘dl-DataToUL-ACK’, it may be determined that a channel access type of acorresponding sequence in the channel access type configuration is thechannel access type employed by the PUCCH transmitting HARQ feedbackinformation. For example, if the ‘PDSCH-to-HARQ_feedback timingindicator’ field indicates a third slot interval value configured in‘dl-DataToUL-ACK’ configuration, it may be determined that itscorresponding channel access type is the third channel access typeconfigured by the channel access type parameter. When the terminalequipment does not have valid ‘dl-DataToUL-ACK’ configuration, it maytransmit the PUCCH by using the predefined channel access type.

Or, as the CSI and SR on the PUCCH are transmitted periodically orsemi-persistently, the CSI and SR may use a predefined channel accesstype, and as the HARQ feedback information is related to dynamicscheduling, its channel access type may be configured and indicated inany of the above manners. Or, only the SR adopts the predefined channelaccess type, and other UCI is configured in the above manner.

Table 6 exemplarily shows a situation where a channel access type isconfigured for the PUCCH carrying the HARQ feedback information.

TABLE 6 PUCCH-Config ::=   SEQUENCE {   format1 SetupRelease {PUCCH-FormatConfig }   OPTIONAL,  -- Need M   format2 SetupRelease {PUCCH-FormatConfig }   OPTIONAL,  -- Need M   format3 SetupRelease {PUCCH-FormatConfig }   OPTIONAL,  -- Need M   format4 SetupRelease {PUCCH-FormatConfig }   OPTIONAL,  -- Need M  dl-DataToUL-ACK SEQUENCE(SIZE (1...8)) OF (0...15) OPTIONAL,  -- Need M channelaccesstype-ack SEQUENCE (SIZE (1...8))OF ChannelaccesstypeConig-----------------------------Others areomitted----------------------------    ... } ChannelaccesstypeConig ::=CHOICE {type1,type2,type3}

Table 7 exemplarily shows a situation of mapping between the‘PDSCH-to-HARQ_feedback timing indicator’ field, the number of slot anda channel access type.

TABLE 7 PDSCH-to- HARQ_feedback timing indicator 1 bit 2 bits 3 bitsNumber of slots k Channel access type ‘0’ ‘00’ ‘000’ 1^(st) valueprovided by 1^(st) value provided by dl-DataToUL-ACK Channelaccess-ACK‘1’ ‘01’ ‘001’ 2^(nd) value provided by 2^(nd) value provided bydl-DataToUL-ACK Channelaccess-ACK ‘10’ ‘010’ 3^(rd) value provided by3^(rd) value provided by dl-DataToUL-ACK Channelaccess-ACK ‘11’ ‘011’4^(th) value provided by 4^(th) value provided by dl-DataToUL-ACKChannelaccess-ACK ‘100’ 5^(th) value provided by 5^(th) value providedby dl-DataToUL-ACK Channelaccess-ACK ‘101’ 6^(th) value provided by6^(th) value provided by dl-DataToUL-ACK Channelaccess-ACK ‘110’ d7^(th)value provided by 7^(th) value provided by dl-DataToUL-ACKChannelaccess-ACK ‘111’ 8^(th) value provided by 8^(th) value providedby dl-DataToUL-ACK Channelaccess-ACK

For another example, for the RRC configuration of the PUCCH, as theunlicensed spectrum needs to satisfy a demand for specified occupiedchannel bandwidth (OCB), there will exist an interlace parameter in thePUCCH format configuration of the unlicensed spectrum, the interlaceparameter configuring that PUCCH frequency domain resources aredistributed at intervals on the PUCCH occupied bandwidth. For example,PUCCH-formatNRU (or PUCCH-format X, where X is a value, such as format5) contains interlace parameters.

Table 8 exemplarily shows a situation of configuring a channel accesstype by using interlace parameters.

TABLE 8 PUCCH-formatNRU(or PUCCH-formatX) ::=  SEQUENCE {  interlace INTEGER(0..N)   nrofSymbols   INTEGER (1..2),  startingSymbolIndexINTEGER(0..13) -----------------------------Others areomitted---------------------------- }

In an embodiment, at least two of the channel access types may beconfigured via RRC signaling, and one of the at least two channel accesstypes may be activated via a medium access control (MAC) control element(CE).

For example, a group of channel access types are configured in the PUCCHconfiguration ‘PUCCH-config’. For example, the RRC signaling configurestwo channel access types, one is the first channel access type withoutperforming channel detection, and the other is the third channel accesstype including the detection interval and contention window and givingthe counter size of the contention window, one of the channel accesstypes being activated by the MAC CE. After activating by the MAC CE andbefore a next time of activation, the terminal equipment transmits thePUCCH by using the activated channel access type. And before theterminal equipment receives the MAC CE or before the MAC CE takeseffect, the terminal equipment transmits the PUCCH by using the defaultchannel access type. Or before the RRC signaling takes effect, thedefault channel access type is used, and after the RRC signaling takeseffect and before there is a valid MAC CE, the terminal equipmenttransmits the PUCCH by using the first channel access type configured bythe RRC signaling or the last channel access type configured by the RRCsignaling.

The method for activating by the MAC CE makes the channel access typefor transmitting the PUCCH to be semi-persistent. One channel accesstype is used for a period of time, and if the surrounding environmentchanges or the scheduling mode changes over time, the channel accesstype may be modified via the MAC CE so as to achieve semi-persistentadaptation.

In an embodiment, the configuration information is transmitted viadownlink control information (DCI), wherein the DCI indicates thechannel access type of the PUCCH carrying the HARQ feedback information.

For example, since the PUCCH resources of the transmitted SR and CSI areall periodical or semi-persistent presentations, the channel access typemay be configured in the above configuration method or a predefinedchannel access type may be used, and as the HARQ feedback information istransmitting following dynamic scheduling of the PDSCH, the channelaccess type of the PUCCH carrying the HARQ feedback information may beindicated by the DCI.

For example, the DCI contains a channel access type indicator field, thechannel access type indicator field being used to indicate the channelaccess type of the PUCCH transmitting the HARQ feedback information.

For another example, the “PDSCH-to-HARQ_feedback timing indicator” fieldmay be reused, and a part of an indicator value in the field ispredefined to indicate a channel access type.

Table 9 exemplarily shows a situation where the indicator value of the“PDSCH-to-HARQ_feedback timing indicator” field is used to indicate achannel access type.

TABLE 9 PDSCH-to- HARQ_feedback timing indicator 1 bit 2 bits 3 bitsNumber of slots k Channel access type ‘0’ ‘00’ ‘000’ xxx Type 1 ‘1’ ‘01’‘001’ xxx Type 2 ‘10’ ‘010’ xxx Type 2 ‘11’ ‘011’ xxx Type 2 ‘100’ xxxType 3 ‘101’ xxx Type 3 ‘110’ xxx Type 3 ‘111’ xxx Type 3

In an embodiment, the channel access type may be predefined. That is,the channel access type before the PUCCH is transmitted is predefined.

For example, it is predefined in standards that no channel detection isperformed before the PUCCH is transmitted. If the predefined channelaccess type is not performing channel detection, the PUCCH is alwaystransmitted within the channel occupation time obtained by the networkdevice by channel detection. The network device needs to ensure that thechannel is occupied by downlink data transmitted by the network deviceor uplink data granted by the network device before the PUCCH istransmitted, and/or the network device needs to ensure that an intervalbetween any two transmissions before the PUCCH is transmitted is notgreater than 16 us. Or, it is predefined the PUCCH is transmitted byusing the second channel access type with a detection interval of 25 us.

It should be noted that the above embodiments only illustrate thisdisclosure. However, this disclosure is not limited thereto, andappropriate variants may be made on the basis of these embodiments. Forexample, the above embodiments may be executed separately, or one ormore of them may be executed in a combined manner.

Moreover, above tables 1-9 only illustrate the embodiment of thisdisclosure. However, this disclosure is not limited thereto, andappropriate variants may be made on the basis of the contents of tables1-9, and such variants are all within the coverage of the embodiment ofthis disclosure.

It can be seen from the above embodiments that the terminal equipmentdetermines a channel access type of an uplink control channel used fortransmitting uplink control information, and detects a channel accordingto the channel access type and transmits the uplink control informationto a network device after the channel is detected as being idle, or doesnot detect a channel according to the channel access type and transmitsthe uplink control information to the network device. Hence, in somescenarios, uplink control information may be transmitted withoutdetecting a channel, which may lower latency and improve transmissionefficiency; and in some other scenarios, uplink control information maybe transmitted after the channel is detected as being idle, which mayavoid or lower interference and improve reliability of transmission.

Embodiment 2

The embodiments of this disclosure provide an information indicationmethod, which may be carried out separately, or may be carried out inconjunction with Embodiment 1.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the information indication method ofthe embodiment of this disclosure. As shown in FIG. 5, the methodincludes:

step 501: a terminal equipment determines that there exists a hiddennode of a network device around; and

step 502: the terminal equipment indicates that there exists the hiddennode of a network device around to the network device.

In an embodiment, the terminal equipment may explicitly transmitindication information to the network device so as to indicate thatthere exists the hidden node of the network device around. However, thisdisclosure is not limited thereto. For example, if the network devicetransmits detection information and the terminal equipment makes noresponse, the network device determines that there exists a hidden nodearound the terminal equipment; that is, the terminal equipment may alsoimplicitly indicate that there exists a hidden node around by making noresponse. The indication information transmitted by the terminalequipment, sounding information transmitted by the network device and aresponse message of the terminal equipment to the network detectioninformation may be a predefined sequence or a piece of indicationsignaling.

In an embodiment, the hidden node of the network device may be one ormore transmission devices; and when the transmission device(s)transmit(s) signals, the network device is unable to detect that achannel is occupied by the transmission device(s), and the terminalequipment is able to detect that a channel is occupied by thetransmission device(s). For example, a transmission node existing arounda UE that the UE is able to detect but a base station is unable todetect is referred to as a hidden node of the base station.

In an embodiment, the terminal equipment determines that uplink controlinformation is not transmitted by using a first channel access type notperforming channel detection, or the terminal equipment does not expectthat the network device schedules uplink transmission of the firstchannel access type not performing channel detection.

In an embodiment, the terminal equipment determines that schedulinginformation of the network device is wrong information when there existsa hidden node of the network device around and the schedulinginformation of the network device is received, the schedulinginformation scheduling uplink transmission of the first channel accesstype not performing channel detection.

For example, when the UE notifies that there exists a hidden node of thebase station around the base station, or the base station determinesthat there exists a hidden node thereof around the UE via informationexchange, the UE does not expect the base station to schedule uplinktransmission without performing channel idle detection. That is, as thebase station is unable to detect whether the hidden node occupies achannel, if the UE is scheduled to perform uplink transmission withoutperforming channel detection, it will result in unfairness of using anunlicensed spectrum by the hidden node.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of generating interference by the hiddennode of the embodiment of this disclosure. As shown in FIG. 6, forexample, the base station occupies a channel by detecting that thechannel is idle, and schedules the UE to transmit uplink transmissionwithout performing channel detection within the channel occupancy timeof this time of transmission. However, as the base station and thehidden nodes of the base station cannot detect each other, the hiddennode has detected that the channel is idle during the transmissionprocess of the base station and performs signal transmission, and afterthe UE receives the indication of the base station scheduling to performuplink transmission without performing channel detection, when thescheduled information is transmitted at a corresponding time point, itwill interfere with transmission of the hidden node, causing degradationof transmission quality thereof. Therefore, in the case where the hiddennode exists, the base station is unable to schedule the UE to transmitthe uplink transmission without performing channel detection, and if theUE receives such scheduling, it is deemed that a scheduling erroroccurs.

In an embodiment, the terminal equipment may transmit informationindicating that the channel is idle to the network device.

FIG. 7 is another schematic diagram of the information indication methodof the embodiment of this disclosure. As shown in FIG. 7, the methodincludes:

step 701: the network device transmits first indication informationinstructing the terminal equipment to detect a channel to the terminalequipment; and

step 702: the terminal equipment detects whether the channel is idle.

As shown in FIG. 7, the method may further include:

step 703: the terminal equipment transmits second indication informationindicating that the channel is idle to the network device when thechannel is detected as being in an idle state; and

step 704: the network device transmits third indication information toinstruct the terminal equipment to transmit uplink transmission of thefirst channel access type without performing channel detection.

In an embodiment, the first indication information in step 701 may beregarded as sounding information transmitted by the network device, andis used to instruct the terminal equipment to determine whether thereexists a hidden node of the network device around. The terminalequipment does not transmit the second indication information when thechannel is detected as being busy, and by not receiving the secondindication information, the network device determines that there existsa hidden node and the channel is busy. For example, as described above,existence of a hidden node around may be indicated by making noresponse.

Moreover, the first indication information transmitted by the networkdevice and/or the second indication information transmitted by theterminal equipment may be a predefined sequence symbol/sequence symbols,such as a Zadoff-Chu sequence/sequences; or, the first indicationinformation transmitted by the network device and/or the secondindication information transmitted by the terminal equipment may beindication signaling needing to be modulated or encoded, and theembodiment of this disclosure is not limited thereto.

As shown in FIG. 7, the method may further include:

step 705: the terminal equipment transmits uplink information withoutperforming channel detection.

It should be noted that FIG. 7 only schematically illustrates theembodiment of this disclosure; however, this disclosure is not limitedthereto. For example, an order of execution of the steps may beappropriately adjusted, and furthermore, some other steps may be added,or some steps therein may be reduced. And appropriate variants may bemade by those skilled in the art according to the above contents,without being limited to what is contained in FIG. 7.

In an embodiment, when the terminal equipment receives third indicationinformation of the network device instructing the terminal equipment totransmit uplink transmission of the first channel access type withoutperforming channel detection and the uplink transmission of the firstchannel access type not performing channel detection is scheduled to betransmitted out of a valid time of the second indication information,the terminal equipment determines that the third indication informationis wrong information.

In an embodiment, the terminal equipment does not expect that the uplinktransmission of the first channel access type without performing channeldetection is scheduled to be transmitted outside the valid time of thesecond indication information; or, when the second indicationinformation indicating that the channel is idle is not transmitted, theterminal equipment does not expect that the network device instructs theterminal equipment to transmit the uplink transmission of the firstchannel access type without performing channel detection.

In an embodiment, when second indication information indicating that thechannel is idle is not transmitted and the terminal equipment receivesthird indication information of the network device instructing theterminal equipment to perform uplink transmission of the first channelaccess type without performing channel detection, the terminal equipmentdetermines that the third indication information is wrong information.

For example, in order to prevent the hidden node of the base stationaround the UE from causing degradation of transmission quality, the basestation needs to determine whether a channel around the UE is in an idlestate before scheduling the UE to transmit uplink transmission withoutperforming channel detection. Therefore, the base station firsttransmits channel detection indication information to the UE, and onlyafter the base station receives the indication information that achannel around is idle transmitted by the UE, can it schedule the UE totransmit the uplink transmission without performing channel detection;or, after the base station receives the indication informationindicating that a channel around is idle transmitted by the UE, itschedules the UE to transmit the uplink transmission without performingchannel detection within an effective time of the indication informationindicating that a channel around is idle. When the UE does not transmitindication information indicating that a channel around is idle andreceives the uplink transmission without performing channel detectionscheduled by the base station, the UE deems that a scheduling erroroccurs. Or, if an uplink transmission without performing channeldetection is scheduled outside the effective time of the channel idleindication information, the UE deems that a scheduling error occurs.

It should be noted that the above embodiment s only illustrate thedisclosure. However, this disclosure is not limited thereto, andappropriate variants may be made on the basis of these embodiments. Forexample, the above embodiments may be executed separately, or one ormore of them may be executed in a combined manner.

It can be seen from the above embodiments that the terminal equipmentdetermines that there exists a hidden node of the network equipmentaround, and takes such a situation as a condition for whether to use thechannel access type without performing channel detection. Hence,interference resulted from the hidden node when no channel detection isperformed may be avoided or lowered, thereby improving reliability oftransmission

Embodiment 3

The embodiments of this disclosure provide a method for transmittinguplink control information, which may be carried out separately, or maybe carried out in conjunction with Embodiment 1, or may be carried outin conjunction with Embodiment 2, or may be carried out in conjunctionwith embodiments 1 and 2.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of the method for transmitting uplinkcontrol information of the embodiment of this disclosure. As shown inFIG. 8, the method includes:

step 801: a terminal equipment determines at least two transmissionoccasions of an uplink control channel and channel access types of theat least two transmission occasions; and

step 802: in at least one of the at least two transmission occasions,the terminal equipment transmits the uplink control information to anetwork device according to the channel access type.

In an embodiment, the transmission occasions are time-frequencyresources of an uplink control channel having different frequency domainpositions or different time domain positions and used for transmittingthe uplink control information. In communication of an unlicensedspectrum, when a channel is detected as being busy, a transmittingdevice is unable to transmit a signal, and as UCI is relativelyimportant to ensuing uplink and downlink communication, multipletransmission occasions may be provided for a PUCCH, the multipletransmission occasions being multiple PUCCH resources having differentfrequency domain positions or different time domain positions.

In an embodiment, the terminal equipment determines a channel accesstype of a first transmission occasion in the at least two transmissionoccasions according to an indication of the network device.

For example, a UE may determine a channel access type in one of theconfiguration, indication or default manners described in Embodiment 1,and the multiple transmission occasions performs channel access by usingthe channel access type. And the UE may adjust channel access types ofthe transmission occasions in a predefined manner.

In an embodiment, the terminal equipment may determine a channel accesstype of a second transmission occasion other than the first transmissionoccasion in the at least two transmission occasions according to atleast one of the following: a channel detection condition of atransmission occasion preceding the second transmission occasion;whether the second transmission occasion is within a channel occupationtime of the network device.

For example, the UE determines the channel access type used for thefirst transmission occasion according to a method in Embodiment 1. Afterthe channel of one transmission occasion is detected as being busy andthe transmission fails, a channel access type of a next time oftransmission occasion is adjusted in a predefined channel manner.

For example, the base station configures the channel access type for thefirst transmission occasion for the UE to be the second channel accesstype with a detection interval of 25 us. If the UE detects before thefirst transmission occasion that the channel is busy and is able totransmit the PUCCH at the first transmission occasion, the UE will usethe third channel access type having a highest priority (a counter witha minimal initial value) including the detection interval and contentionwindow before the second transmission occasion. If it fails again, theUE increases the initial value of the detection window counter in apredefined manner at the next time of transmission occasion to performchannel detection. Alternatively, the predefined channel access typeadjustment manner is using the configured or indicated or defaultchannel access type for former two transmission occasions, and thecounter size of the detection window is adjusted next time.

For another example, the UE adjusts the channel access type in apredefined manner according to whether the transmission occasion iswithin the channel occupation time of the base station. It may bepredefined that when the transmission occasion of the PUCCH is withinthe channel occupation time of the base station, a predefined channelaccess type is adopted, and the transmission occasion out of the channeloccupation time of the base station adopts another channel access typethat is configured or indicated by the base station or is predefined.For example, it is specified in standards that when the transmissionoccasion of the PUCCH is within the channel occupation time of the basestation, the second channel access type with a detection interval of 25us is adopted, and if it is out of the channel occupation time of thebase station, the third channel access type configured by the basestation for it is adopted.

Or, the base station configures or indicates a channel access type forthe UE. If the first transmission occasion of the PUCCH is within thechannel occupation time of the base station, the channel access typesconfigured or indicated by the base station are adopted in thetransmission occasions within the channel occupation time, and channelaccess types are adjusted in a predefined manner for the transmissionoccasions out of the channel occupation time of the base station. And ifthe first transmission occasion of the PUCCH is out of the channeloccupation time of the base station, the UE performs channel detectionbefore the transmission occasions by using the channel access typeconfigured or indicted by the base station.

For another example, the base station contains a channel access typeindicator field in the DCI, a value of the field indicating an indexvalue, an index value corresponding to a group of channel access types,and the group of channel access types corresponding to multipletransmission occasions one to one; and the UE performs channel detectionby using a channel access type corresponding to it before thetransmission occasions. A correspondence between index values andchannel access types may be configured by a higher layer, or may be apredefined table.

In an embodiment, the channel access type is independently configured ordefined for the at least two transmission occasions respectively. Forexample, the base station configures channel access types respectivelyfor PUCCH resources of multiple transmission occasions, and the UEperforms channel detection by using a channel access type correspondingto it before the transmission occasions.

In an embodiment, the at least two transmission occasions are allocatedon unit bandwidths having different frequency domains and used forchannel detection.

For example, as an SR or CSI is configured with periodic orsemi-persistent resources by the higher layer, multiple transmissionoccasions for the SR or CSI may be achieved by reducing period values.The multiple transmission occasions may be allocated on channeldetection unit bandwidths of different frequency domains. For example, aunit bandwidth of channel detection is 20 MHz, and the base stationconfigures an integer number of PUCCH resources for the SR or CSI,wherein at least two PUCCH resources are allocated on different unitbandwidths of channel detection, and a location of a frequency band maybe determined according to the parameter ‘startingPRB’ in the‘PUCCH-Resource’ configuration.

For example, the channel access types may be added into the SR or CSIconfiguration. This method is applicable to the configured PUCCHs, andthe UE performs channel detection according to the channel access typesbefore the configured PUCCH resources, and carries the PUCCH of the SRor CSI on the PUCCH resource detected as being idle.

Table 10 exemplarily shows a situation of configuration of the PUCCHresources of the SR.

TABLE 10 SchedulingRequestResourceConfig ::= SEQUENCE {  schedulingRequestResourceId  SchedulingRequestResourceId, schedulingRequestID   SchedulingRequestId, ------------A part of thecontents are omitted------------   channelaccesstypeSR   CHOICE {type1,type2, ..., typeX}   resource     SEQUENCE (SIZE(1..maxNrofSRopportunities)) OF PUCCH-ResourceId        OPTIONAL  --Need M }

Table 11 exemplarily shows a situation of configuration of the PUCCHresources of the CSI.

TABLE 11 PUCCH-CSI-Resource ::= SEQUENCE {  uplinkBandwidthPartId BWP-Id,  channelaccesstypeCSI   CHOICE {type1, type2, ..., typeX} pucch-Resource   SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..maxNrofCSIopportunities)) OFPUCCH-ResourceId }

For another example, a channel access type is not configured in the SRor CSI configuration, that is, the parameter ‘channelaccesstypeSR’ or‘channelaccesstypeCSI’ is not contained in the above example, butchannel access type is configured in ‘PUCCH-Resource’ or ‘PUCCHformatX’. Before an integer number of PUCCH resources in the SR or CSIconfiguration, channel detection is performed according to the channelaccess types configured for the resources, and the PUCCH is transmittedon the PUCCH resource where the channel is detected as being idle.

For a further example, time information of multiple pieces of HARQfeedback may be indicated by the ‘PDSCH-to-HARQ_feedback timingindicator’ field in the DCI, so as to obtain PUCCH transmissionoccasions of multiple times of HARQ feedback. Alternatively, a group ofPUCCH resources may be indicated by the ‘PDSCH-to-HARQ_feedback timingindicator’ field in the DCI, so as to obtain multiple resources fortransmitting HARQ feedback.

Moreover, above tables 10-11 only illustrate the embodiment of thisdisclosure. However, this disclosure is not limited thereto, andappropriate variants may be made on the basis of the contents of tables10-11, and such variants are all within the coverage of the embodimentof this disclosure.

It can be seen from the above embodiments that the terminal equipmenttransmits the uplink control information to the network device and in atleast one of the at least two transmission occasions according to thechannel access type. Hence, transmission latency may be reduced andtransmission efficiency may be improved.

Embodiment 4

The embodiments of this disclosure provide a method for receiving uplinkcontrol information, which shall be described from a network device(i.e. a side where uplink control information is received) side, withcontents identical to those in embodiments 1-3 being not going to bedescribed herein any further.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of the method for receiving uplink controlinformation of the embodiment of this disclosure. As shown in FIG. 9,the method includes:

step 902: a network device receives uplink control informationtransmitted by a terminal equipment, the uplink control informationbeing transmitted after the terminal equipment performs channeldetection according to a channel access type of the uplink controlchannel and the channel is detected as being idle, or being transmittedwithout performing channel detection according to the channel accesstype.

In an embodiment, the channel access type includes at least one of thefollowing: a first channel access type not performing channel detection,a second channel access type containing a detection interval, a thirdchannel access type containing a detection interval and a contentionwindow.

In an embodiment, the uplink control information is transmitted by usingan unlicensed spectrum.

As shown in FIG. 9, the method may further include:

step 901: the network device transmits configuration information forconfiguring or reconfiguring the channel access type to the terminalequipment.

In an embodiment, the configuration information is transmitted via asystem message and/or RRC signaling.

It should be noted that FIG. 9 only schematically illustrates theembodiment of this disclosure; however, this disclosure is not limitedthereto. For example, an order of execution of the steps may beappropriately adjusted, and furthermore, some other steps may be added,or some steps therein may be reduced. And appropriate variants may bemade by those skilled in the art according to the above contents,without being limited to what is contained in FIG. 9.

In an embodiment, the channel access type is configured via UE-specificphysical uplink control channel configuration signaling; or, the channelaccess type is configured via the system message; or, the channel accesstype is configured via the system message, and is reconfigured via theUE-specific physical uplink control channel configuration signaling.

In an embodiment, the channel access type is configured or reconfiguredfor at least one physical uplink control channel resource via radioresource control signaling.

In an embodiment, at least two physical uplink control channel resourcesare independently configured with channel access types respectively, orformats of at least two physical uplink control channel resources areindependently configured with the channels access types respectively.

In an embodiment, the channel access type is determined at leastaccording to the format and/or duration of the physical uplink controlchannel resource.

In an embodiment, a channel access type adopted by an uplink controlchannel carrying the uplink control information is configured orreconfigured via radio resource control signaling for the for at leastone type of uplink control information (UCI), the uplink controlinformation (UCI) including at least one or more of the following types:hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback information, channelstate information, scheduling request.

In an embodiment, at least two types of uplink control information areindependently configured with the channel access types respectively.

In an embodiment, at least two channel access types are configured viaradio resource control signaling, and one of the at least two channelaccess types is activated by a medium access control (MAC) controlelement (CE).

In an embodiment, the configuration information is transmitted viadownlink control information (DCI).

In an embodiment, the downlink control information indicates the channelaccess type of the hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedbackinformation.

In an embodiment, the channel access type is predefined.

It should be noted that the above embodiments only illustrate thedisclosure. However, this disclosure is not limited thereto, andappropriate variants may be made on the basis of these embodiments. Forexample, the above embodiments may be executed separately, or one ormore of them may be executed in a combined manner.

It can be seen from the above embodiments that the terminal equipmentperforms channel detection according to the channel access type andtransmits the uplink control information to the network device after itis detected that the channel is idle, or the terminal equipment performsno channel detection according to the channel access type and transmitsthe uplink control information to the network device. Hence, in somescenarios, uplink control information may be transmitted withoutdetecting a channel, which may lower latency and improve transmissionefficiency; and in some other scenarios, uplink control information maybe transmitted after the channel is detected as being idle, which mayavoid or lower interference and improve reliability of transmission.

Embodiment 5

The embodiments of this disclosure provide an apparatus for transmittinguplink control information. The apparatus may be, for example, aterminal equipment, or may be one or more components or assembliesconfigured in a terminal equipment. Contents in the embodimentsidentical to those in embodiments 1-4 shall not be described herein anyfurther.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of the apparatus for transmitting uplinkcontrol information of the embodiment of this disclosure. As shown inFIG. 10, an apparatus 1000 for transmitting uplink control informationincludes:

a determining unit 1001 configured to determine a channel access type ofan uplink control channel used for transmitting uplink controlinformation, the channel access type including at least one of thefollowing: a first channel access type not performing channel detection,a second channel access type containing a detection interval, a thirdchannel access type containing a detection interval and a contentionwindow; and

a transmitting unit 1002 configured to detect a channel according to thechannel access type and transmit the uplink control information to anetwork device after the channel is detected as being idle, or not todetect a channel according to the channel access type and transmit theuplink control information to the network device.

As shown in FIG. 10, the apparatus 1000 may further include:

a receiving unit 1003 configured to receive configuration informationused for configuring or reconfiguring the channel access typetransmitted by the network device.

In an embodiment, the configuration information is transmitted via asystem message and/or radio resource control signaling; wherein thechannel access type is configured via terminal equipment-specificphysical uplink control channel configuration signaling, or the channelaccess type is configured via the system message, or the channel accesstype is configured via the system message and the channel access type isreconfigured via the terminal equipment-specific physical uplink controlchannel configuration signaling.

In an embodiment, the channel access type is configured or reconfiguredfor at least one physical uplink control channel resource via radioresource control signaling; wherein at least two physical uplink controlchannel resources are independently configured with the channel accesstype respectively, or formats of at least two physical uplink controlchannel resources are independently configured with the channel accesstype respectively.

In an embodiment, the channel access type is determined at leastaccording to a format and/or a duration of the physical uplink controlchannel resource.

In an embodiment, the channel access type adopted by an uplink controlchannel carrying the uplink control information is configured orreconfigured for at least one kind of uplink control information viaradio resource control signaling, the uplink control informationincluding at least one or more of the following: hybrid automatic repeatrequest (HARQ) feedback information, channel state information, and ascheduling request; wherein at least two kinds of the uplink controlinformation are independently configured with the channel access typerespectively.

In an embodiment, at least two kinds of the channel access type areconfigured via radio resource control signaling, and one of the at leasttwo kinds of the channel access type is activated via a media accesscontrol control element.

In an embodiment, the configuration information is transmitted viadownlink control information, the downlink control informationindicating a channel access type of hybrid automatic repeat requestfeedback information.

In an embodiment, the channel access type is predefined.

In an embodiment, the determining unit 1001 is further configured todetermine that there exists a hidden node of a network device around,and the apparatus 1000 may further include: an indicating unit 1004configured to indicate that there exists the hidden node of a networkdevice around to the network device.

In an embodiment, the hidden node of the network device is one or moretransmission devices; and when the transmission device(s) transmit(s)signals, the network device is unable to detect that a channel isoccupied by the transmission device(s), and the terminal equipment isable to detect that a channel is occupied by the transmission device(s).

In an embodiment, the determining unit 1001 may further be configured todetermine not to transmit uplink control information by using a firstchannel access type not performing channel detection, or not to expectthat the network device schedules uplink transmission of the firstchannel access type not performing channel detection.

In an embodiment, the transmitting unit 1002 may further be configuredto transmit indication information indicating that the channel is idleto the network device.

In an embodiment, the determining unit 1001 may further be configured todetermine at least two transmission occasions of the uplink controlchannel and channel access type of the at least two transmissionoccasions; and the transmitting unit 1002 may further be configured to,in at least one of the at least two transmission occasions, transmit theuplink control information to the network device according to thechannel access type.

In an embodiment, the determining unit 1001 may further be configured todetermine a channel access type of a first transmission occasion in theat least two transmission occasions according to an indication of thenetwork device, and determine a channel access type of a secondtransmission occasion other than the first transmission occasion in theat least two transmission occasions according to at least one of thefollowing: a channel detection condition of a transmission occasionpreceding the second transmission occasion, and whether the secondtransmission occasion is within a channel occupation time of the networkdevice.

In an embodiment, the channel access type is independently configured ordefined for the at least two transmission occasions respectively, and/orthe at least two transmission occasions are allocated on unit bandwidthshaving different frequency domains and used for channel detection.

It should be noted that the components or modules related to thisdisclosure are only described above. However, this disclosure is notlimited thereto, and the apparatus 1000 for transmitting uplink controlinformation may further include other components or modules, andreference may be made to related techniques for particulars of thesecomponents or modules.

Furthermore, for the sake of simplicity, connection relationshipsbetween the components or modules or signal profiles thereof are onlyillustrated in FIG. 10. However, it should be understood by thoseskilled in the art that such related techniques as bus connection, etc.,may be adopted. And the above components or modules may be implementedby hardware, such as a processor, a memory, a transmitter, and areceiver, etc., which are not limited in the embodiment of thisdisclosure.

It can be seen from the above embodiments that the terminal equipmentperforms channel detection according to the channel access type andtransmits the uplink control information to the network device after itis detected that the channel is idle, or the terminal equipment performsno channel detection according to the channel access type and transmitsthe uplink control information to the network device. Hence, in somescenarios, uplink control information may be transmitted withoutdetecting a channel, which may lower latency and improve transmissionefficiency; and in some other scenarios, uplink control information maybe transmitted after the channel is detected as being idle, which mayavoid or lower interference and improve reliability of transmission.

Embodiment 6

The embodiments of this disclosure provide an apparatus for receivinguplink control information. The apparatus may be, for example, a networkdevice, or may be one or more components or assemblies configured in a rnetwork device. Contents in the embodiments identical to those inembodiments 1-4 shall not be described herein any further.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of the apparatus for receiving uplinkcontrol information of the embodiment of this disclosure. As shown inFIG. 11, an apparatus 1100 for receiving uplink control informationincludes:

a receiving unit 1101 configured to receive uplink control informationtransmitted by a terminal equipment, the uplink control informationbeing transmitted after the terminal equipment performs channeldetection according to a channel access type of the uplink controlchannel and the channel is detected as being idle, or being transmittedwithout performing channel detection according to the channel accesstype;

the channel access type including at least one of the following: a firstchannel access type not performing channel detection, a second channelaccess type containing a detection interval, a third channel access typecontaining a detection interval and a contention window.

As shown in FIG. 11, the apparatus 1100 may further include:

a transmitting unit 1102 configured configuration information forconfiguring or reconfiguring the channel access type to the terminalequipment.

It should be noted that the components or modules related to thisdisclosure are only described above. However, this disclosure is notlimited thereto, and the apparatus 1100 for receiving uplink controlinformation may further include other components or modules, andreference may be made to related techniques for particulars of thesecomponents or modules.

Furthermore, for the sake of simplicity, connection relationshipsbetween the components or modules or signal profiles thereof are onlyillustrated in FIG. 10. However, it should be understood by thoseskilled in the art that such related techniques as bus connection, etc.,may be adopted. And the above components or modules may be implementedby hardware, such as a processor, a memory, a transmitter, and areceiver, etc., which are not limited in the embodiment of thisdisclosure.

It can be seen from the above embodiments that the terminal equipmentperforms channel detection according to the channel access type andtransmits the uplink control information to the network device after itis detected that the channel is idle, or the terminal equipment performsno channel detection according to the channel access type and transmitsthe uplink control information to the network device. Hence, in somescenarios, uplink control information may be transmitted withoutdetecting a channel, which may lower latency and improve transmissionefficiency; and in some other scenarios, uplink control information maybe transmitted after the channel is detected as being idle, which mayavoid or lower interference and improve reliability of transmission.

Embodiment 7

The embodiments of this disclosure provide a communication system, andreference may be made to FIG. 1, with contents identical to those inembodiments 1-6 being not going to be described herein any further. Inan embodiment, the communication system 100 may include:

a terminal equipment 102 configured to determine a channel access typeof an uplink control channel used for transmitting uplink controlinformation, and detect a channel according to the channel access typeand transmit the uplink control information to a network device afterthe channel is detected as being idle, or not to detect a channelaccording to the channel access type and transmit the uplink controlinformation to the network device; and

a network device 101 configured to receive uplink control informationtransmitted by the terminal equipment; wherein the channel access typeincludes at least one of the following: a first channel access type notperforming channel detection, a second channel access type containing adetection interval, a third channel access type containing a detectioninterval and a contention window.

The embodiment of this disclosure further provides a network device,which may be, for example, a base station. However, this disclosure isnot limited thereto, and it may also be another network device.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of a structure of the network device ofthe embodiment of this disclosure. As shown in FIG. 12, a network device1200 may include a processor 1210 (such as a central processing unit(CPU)) and a memory 1220, the memory 1220 being coupled to the processor1210. The memory 1220 may store various data, and furthermore, it maystore a program 1230 for data processing, and execute the program 1230under control of the processor 1210.

For example, the processor 1210 may be configured to execute the programto carry out the method for receiving uplink control information asdescribed in Embodiment 4. For example, the processor 1210 may beconfigured to perform the following control: receiving uplink controlinformation transmitted by a terminal equipment, the uplink controlinformation being transmitted after the terminal equipment performschannel detection according to a channel access type of the uplinkcontrol channel and the channel is detected as being idle, or beingtransmitted without performing channel detection according to thechannel access type.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 12, the network device 1200 may include atransceiver 1240, and an antenna 1250, etc. Functions of the abovecomponents are similar to those in the relevant art, and shall not bedescribed herein any further. It should be noted that the network device1200 does not necessarily include all the parts shown in FIG. 12, andfurthermore, the network device 1200 may include parts not shown in FIG.12, and the relevant art may be referred to.

The embodiment of this disclosure further provides a terminal equipment,however, this disclosure is not limited thereto, and it may also beanother equipment.

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of the terminal equipment of theembodiment of this disclosure. As shown in FIG. 13, a terminal equipment1300 may include a processor 1310 and a memory 1320, the memory 1320storing data and a program and being coupled to the processor 1310. Itshould be noted that this figure is illustrative only, and other typesof structures may also be used, so as to supplement or replace thisstructure and achieve a telecommunications function or other functions.

For example, the processor 1310 may be configured to execute a programto carry out the method for transmitting uplink control information asdescribed in Embodiment 1 and/or Embodiment 3 and/or the informationindication method as described in Embodiment 2. For example, theprocessor 1310 may be configured to perform the following control:determining a channel access type of an uplink control channel used fortransmitting uplink control information, the channel access typeincluding at least one of the following: a first channel access type notperforming channel detection, a second channel access type containing adetection interval, a third channel access type containing a detectioninterval and a contention window; and detecting a channel according tothe channel access type and transmitting the uplink control informationto a network device after the channel is detected as being idle, or notdetecting a channel according to the channel access type andtransmitting the uplink control information to the network device.

As shown in FIG. 13, the terminal equipment 1300 may further include acommunication module 1330, an input unit 1340, a display 1350, and apower supply 1360; wherein functions of the above components are similarto those in the relevant art, which shall not be described herein anyfurther. It should be noted that the terminal equipment 1300 does notnecessarily include all the parts shown in FIG. 13, and the abovecomponents are not necessary. Furthermore, the terminal equipment 1300may include parts not shown in FIG. 13, and the relevant art may bereferred to.

An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a computer program,which, when executed in a terminal equipment, will cause the terminalequipment to carry out the method for transmitting uplink controlinformation described in Embodiment 1 or Embodiment 3 or the informationindication method described in Embodiment 2.

An embodiment of this disclosure provides a storage medium, including acomputer program, which will cause a terminal equipment to carry out themethod for transmitting uplink control information described inEmbodiment 1 or Embodiment 3 or the information indication methoddescribed in Embodiment 2.

An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a computer program,which, when executed in a network device, will cause the network deviceto carry out the method for receiving uplink control informationdescribed in Embodiment 2.

An embodiment of this disclosure provides a storage medium, including acomputer program, which will cause a network device to carry out themethod for receiving uplink control information described in Embodiment2.

The above apparatuses and methods of this disclosure may be implementedby hardware, or by hardware in combination with software. Thisdisclosure relates to such a computer-readable program that when theprogram is executed by a logic device, the logic device is enabled tocarry out the apparatus or components as described above, or to carryout the methods or steps as described above. The present disclosure alsorelates to a storage medium for storing the above program, such as ahard disk, a floppy disk, a CD, a DVD, and a flash memory, etc.

The methods/apparatuses described with reference to the embodiments ofthis disclosure may be directly embodied as hardware, software modulesexecuted by a processor, or a combination thereof. For example, one ormore functional block diagrams and/or one or more combinations of thefunctional block diagrams shown in the drawings may either correspond tosoftware modules of procedures of a computer program, or correspond tohardware modules. Such software modules may respectively correspond tothe steps shown in the drawings. And the hardware module, for example,may be carried out by firming the soft modules by using a fieldprogrammable gate array (FPGA).

The soft modules may be located in an RAM, a flash memory, an ROM, anEPROM, and EEPROM, a register, a hard disc, a floppy disc, a CD-ROM, orany memory medium in other forms known in the art. A memory medium maybe coupled to a processor, so that the processor may be able to readinformation from the memory medium, and write information into thememory medium; or the memory medium may be a component of the processor.The processor and the memory medium may be located in an ASIC. The softmodules may be stored in a memory of a mobile terminal, and may also bestored in a memory card of a pluggable mobile terminal. For example, ifequipment (such as a mobile terminal) employs an MEGA-SIM card of arelatively large capacity or a flash memory device of a large capacity,the soft modules may be stored in the MEGA-SIM card or the flash memorydevice of a large capacity.

One or more functional blocks and/or one or more combinations of thefunctional blocks in the drawings may be realized as a universalprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specificintegrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) orother programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logicdevices, discrete hardware component or any appropriate combinationsthereof carrying out the functions described in this application. Andthe one or more functional block diagrams and/or one or morecombinations of the functional block diagrams in the drawings may alsobe realized as a combination of computing equipment, such as acombination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple processors, one ormore microprocessors in communication combination with a DSP, or anyother such configuration.

This disclosure is described above with reference to particularembodiments. However, it should be understood by those skilled in theart that such a description is illustrative only, and not intended tolimit the protection scope of the present disclosure. Various variantsand modifications may be made by those skilled in the art according tothe principle of the present disclosure, and such variants andmodifications fall within the scope of the present disclosure.

As to implementations containing the above embodiments, followingsupplements are further disclosed.

Supplement 1. A method for transmitting uplink control information,including:

determining, by a terminal equipment, a channel access type of an uplinkcontrol channel used for transmitting uplink control information, thechannel access type including at least one of the following: a firstchannel access type not performing channel detection, a second channelaccess type containing a detection interval, and a third channel accesstype containing a detection interval and a contention window; and

detecting a channel by the terminal equipment according to the channelaccess type and transmitting the uplink control information to a networkdevice after the channel is detected as being idle, or not detecting achannel according to the channel access type and transmitting the uplinkcontrol information to the network device.

Supplement 2. The method according to supplement 1, wherein the uplinkcontrol information is transmitted by using an unlicensed spectrum.

Supplement 3. The method according to supplement 1 or 2, wherein themethod further includes:

receiving, by the terminal equipment, configuration information used forconfiguring or reconfiguring the channel access types transmitted by thenetwork device.

Supplement 4. The method according to supplement 3, wherein theconfiguration information is transmitted via a system message and/orradio resource control (RRC) signaling.

Supplement 5. The method according to supplement 3 or 4, wherein thechannel access type is configured via UE-specific PUCCH configurationsignaling; or

the channel access type is configured via the system message; or

the channel access type is configured via the system message, and thechannel access type is reconfigured via the UE-specific PUCCHconfiguration signaling.

Supplement 6. The method according to supplement 3 or 4, wherein thechannel access type is configured or reconfigured for at least one PUCCHresource via RRC signaling.

Supplement 7. The method according to supplement 6, wherein the at leasttwo PUCCH resources are independently configured with the channel accesstype respectively, or formats of the at least two PUCCH resources areindependently configured with the channel access type separately.

Supplement 8. The method according to supplement 6 or 7, wherein thechannel access type is determined at least according to a format and/ora duration of the physical uplink control channel resource.

Supplement 9. The method according to supplement 3 or 4, wherein thechannel access type is configured or reconfigured for at least one kindof uplink control information via radio resource control signaling, theuplink control information including at least one or more of thefollowing: hybrid automatic repeat request (HARM) feedback information,channel state information, and a scheduling request.

Supplement 10. The method according to supplement 9, wherein at leasttwo kinds of the uplink control information are independently configuredwith the channel access type respectively.

Supplement 11. The method according to supplement 3 or 4, wherein atleast two of the channel access types are configured via RRC signaling,and one of the at least two channel access types is activated via amedium access control (MAC) control element (CE).

Supplement 12. The method according to supplement 3, wherein theconfiguration information is transmitted via downlink controlinformation (DCI).

Supplement 13. The method according to supplement 12, wherein thedownlink control information indicates a channel access type of thehybrid automatic repeat request (HARD) feedback information.

Supplement 14. The method according to supplement 1 or 2, wherein thechannel access type is predefined.

Supplement 15. The method according to any one of supplements 1-14,wherein the method further includes:

determining that there exists a hidden node of a network device aroundby the terminal equipment; and

indicating that there exists the hidden node of the network devicearound by the terminal equipment to the network device.

Supplement 16. The method according to supplement 15, wherein the hiddennode of the network device is one or more transmission devices;

and when the transmission device(s) transmit(s) signals, the networkdevice is unable to detect that a channel is occupied by thetransmission device(s), and the terminal equipment is able to detectthat a channel is occupied by the transmission device(s).

Supplement 17. The method according to supplement 15 or 16, wherein themethod further includes:

determining by the terminal equipment not to perform transmission of theuplink control information by using the first channel access typewithout performing channel detection.

Supplement 18. The method according to any one of supplements 15-17,wherein the method further includes:

not expecting by the terminal equipment that the network device scheduleuplink transmission of the first channel access type without performingchannel detection.

Supplement 19. The method according to any one of supplements 15-18,wherein the method further includes:

when there exists a hidden node of the network device around and thirdindication information of the network device instructing the terminalequipment to transmit uplink transmission of the first channel accesstype without performing channel detection is received, determining bythe terminal equipment that the third indication information is wronginformation.

Supplement 20. The method according to any one of supplements 15-18,wherein the method further includes:

receiving by the terminal equipment first indication information usedfor instructing the terminal equipment to detect a channel andtransmitted by the network device; and

when the channel is detected as being idle, transmitting secondindication information indicating that the channel is idle by theterminal equipment to the network device.

Supplement 21. The method according to supplement 20, wherein the methodfurther includes:

when the terminal equipment receives the third indication information ofthe network device instructing the terminal equipment to transmit uplinktransmission of the first channel access type without performing channeldetection and the uplink transmission of the first channel access typenot performing channel detection is scheduled to be transmitted out of avalid time of the second indication information, determining by theterminal equipment that the third indication information is wronginformation.

Supplement 22. The method according to supplement 20, wherein the methodfurther includes:

not expecting by the terminal equipment that the uplink transmission ofthe first channel access type not performing channel detection isscheduled to be transmitted out of the valid time of the secondindication information.

Supplement 23. The method according to any one of supplements 15-18,wherein the method further includes:

when no indication information indicating that a channel is idle istransmitted, not expecting by the terminal equipment that the networkdevice schedules the uplink transmission of the first channel accesstype not performing channel detection.

Supplement 24. The method according to any one of supplements 15-18,wherein the method further includes:

when second indication information indicating that the channel is idleis not transmitted and the terminal equipment receives third indicationinformation of the network device instructing the terminal equipment toperform uplink transmission of the first channel access type notperforming channel detection, determining by the terminal equipment thatthe third indication information is wrong information.

Supplement 25. The method according to any one of supplements 1-24,wherein the method further includes:

determining at least two transmission occasions of the uplink controlchannel and channel access types of the at least two transmissionoccasions by the terminal equipment; and

in at least one of the at least two transmission occasions, transmittingthe uplink control information to the network device according to thechannel access type.

Supplement 26. The method according to supplement 25, wherein thetransmission occasions are time-frequency resources having differentfrequency domain positions or different time domain positions and usedfor transmitting the uplink control information.

Supplement 27. The method according to supplement 25 or 26, wherein theterminal equipment determines a channel access type of a firsttransmission occasion in the at least two transmission occasionsaccording to an indication of the network device.

Supplement 28. The method according to supplement 27, wherein theterminal equipment determines a channel access type of a secondtransmission occasion other than the first transmission occasion in theat least two transmission occasions according to at least one of thefollowing:

a channel detection condition of a transmission occasion preceding thesecond transmission occasion; and

whether the second transmission occasion is within a channel occupationtime of the network device.

Supplement 29. The method according to any one of supplements 25-28,wherein the channel access type is independently configured or definedfor the at least two transmission occasions respectively.

Supplement 30. The method according to any one of supplements 25-29,wherein the at least two transmission occasions are allocated on unitbandwidths having different frequency domains and used for channeldetection.

Supplement 31. A method for receiving uplink control information,including:

receiving, by a network device, uplink control information transmittedby a terminal equipment, the uplink control information beingtransmitted after the terminal equipment performs channel detectionaccording to a channel access type of the uplink control channel and thechannel is detected as being idle, or being transmitted withoutperforming channel detection according to the channel access type,

the channel access type including at least one of the following: a firstchannel access type not performing channel detection, a second channelaccess type containing a detection interval, and a third channel accesstype containing a detection interval and a contention window.

Supplement 32. The method according to supplement 31, wherein the uplinkcontrol information is transmitted by using an unlicensed spectrum.

Supplement 33. The method according to supplement 31 or 32, wherein themethod further includes:

transmitting configuration information used for configuring orreconfiguring the channel access types by the network device to theterminal equipment.

Supplement 34. The method according to supplement 33, wherein theconfiguration information is transmitted via a system message and/orradio resource control (RRC) signaling.

Supplement 35. The method according to supplement 33 or 34, wherein thechannel access type is configured via UE-specific PUCCH configurationsignaling; or

the channel access type is configured via the system message; or

the channel access type is configured via the system message, and thechannel access type is reconfigured via the UE-specific PUCCHconfiguration signaling.

Supplement 36. The method according to supplement 33 or 34, wherein thechannel access type is configured or reconfigured for at least one PUCCHresource via RRC signaling.

Supplement 37. The method according to supplement 36, wherein the atleast two PUCCH resources are independently configured with the channelaccess type respectively, or formats of the at least two PUCCH resourcesare independently configured with the channel access type separately.

Supplement 38. The method according to supplement 36 or 37, wherein thechannel access type is determined at least according to a format and/ora duration of the physical uplink control channel resource.

Supplement 39. The method according to supplement 33 or 34, wherein thechannel access type is configured or reconfigured for at least one kindof uplink control information via radio resource control signaling, theuplink control information including at least one or more of thefollowing: hybrid automatic repeat request (HARD) feedback information,channel state information, and a scheduling request.

Supplement 40. The method according to supplement 39, wherein at leasttwo kinds of the uplink control information are independently configuredwith the channel access type respectively.

Supplement 41. The method according to supplement 33 or 34, wherein atleast two of the channel access types are configured via RRC signaling,and one of the at least two channel access types is activated via amedium access control (MAC) control element (CE).

Supplement 42. The method according to supplement 33, wherein theconfiguration information is transmitted via downlink controlinformation (DCI).

Supplement 43. The method according to supplement 42, wherein thedownlink control information indicates a channel access type of thehybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback information.

Supplement 44. The method according to supplement 31 or 32, wherein thechannel access type is predefined.

Supplement 45. An information indication method, including:

determining that there exists a hidden node of a network device aroundby a terminal equipment; and

indicating that there exists the hidden node of a network device aroundby the terminal equipment to the network device.

Supplement 46. The method according to supplement 45, wherein the hiddennode of the network device is one or more transmission devices;

and when the transmission device(s) transmit(s) signals, the networkdevice is unable to detect that a channel is occupied by thetransmission device(s), and the terminal equipment is able to detectthat a channel is occupied by the transmission device(s).

Supplement 47. The method according to supplement 45 or 46, wherein themethod further includes:

determining by the terminal equipment that uplink control information isnot transmitted by using a first channel access type not performingchannel detection.

Supplement 48. The method according to any one of supplements 45-47,wherein the method further includes:

not expecting by the terminal equipment that the network deviceschedules uplink transmission of the first channel access type notperforming channel detection.

Supplement 49. The method according to any one of supplements 45-48,wherein the method further includes:

determining by the terminal equipment that third indication informationis wrong information, when there exists a hidden node of the networkdevice around and the third indication information of the network deviceis received, the third information instructing the terminal equipment toperform uplink transmission of the first channel access type notperforming channel detection.

Supplement 50. The method according to any one of supplements 45-48,wherein the method further includes:

receiving by the terminal equipment first indication information usedfor instructing the terminal equipment to detect a channel andtransmitted by the network device; and

when the channel is detected as being idle, transmitting secondindication information indicating that the channel is idle by theterminal equipment to the network device.

Supplement 51. The method according to supplement 50, wherein the methodfurther includes:

when the terminal equipment receives the third indication information ofthe network device instructing the terminal equipment to transmit uplinktransmission of the first channel access type not performing channeldetection and the uplink transmission of the first channel access typenot performing channel detection is scheduled to be transmitted out of avalid time of the second indication information, determining by theterminal equipment that the third indication information is wronginformation.

Supplement 52. The method according to supplement 50, wherein the methodfurther includes:

not expecting by the terminal equipment that the uplink transmission ofthe first channel access type not performing channel detection isscheduled to be transmitted out of the valid time of the secondindication information.

Supplement 53. The method according to any one of supplements 45-48,wherein the method further includes:

when the second indication information indicating that the channel isidle is not transmitted, not expecting by the terminal equipment thatthe network device schedules uplink transmission of the first channelaccess type not performing channel detection.

Supplement 54. The method according to any one of supplements 45-48,wherein the method further includes:

when second indication information indicating that the channel is idleis not transmitted and the terminal equipment receives third indicationinformation of the network device instructing the terminal equipment toperform uplink transmission of the first channel access type notperforming channel detection, determining by the terminal equipment thatthe third indication information is wrong information.

Supplement 55. A method for transmitting uplink control information,including:

determining at least two transmission occasions of an uplink controlchannel and channel access types of the at least two transmissionoccasions by a terminal equipment; and

in at least one of the at least two transmission occasions, transmittingthe uplink control information to a network device according to thechannel access type.

Supplement 56. The method according to supplement 55, wherein thetransmission occasions are time-frequency resources having differentfrequency domain positions or different time domain positions and usedfor transmitting the uplink control information.

Supplement 57. The method according to supplement 55 or 56, wherein theterminal equipment determines a channel access type of a firsttransmission occasion in the at least two transmission occasionsaccording to an indication of the network device.

Supplement 58. The method according to supplement 57, wherein theterminal equipment determines a channel access type of a secondtransmission occasion other than the first transmission occasion in theat least two transmission occasions according to at least one of thefollowing:

a channel detection condition of a transmission occasion preceding thesecond transmission occasion; and

whether the second transmission occasion is within a channel occupationtime of the network device.

Supplement 59. The method according to any one of supplements 55-58,wherein the channel access type is independently configured or definedfor the at least two transmission occasions respectively.

Supplement 60. The method according to any one of supplements 55-59,wherein the at least two transmission occasions are allocated on unitbandwidths having different frequency domains and used for channeldetection.

Supplement 61. A terminal equipment, including a memory and a processor,the memory storing a computer program, and the processor beingconfigured to execute the computer program to carry out the method fortransmitting uplink control information as described in any one ofsupplements 1-30 and 55-60 or the information indication method asdescribed in any one of supplements 45-54.

Supplement 62. A network device, including a memory and a processor, thememory storing a computer program, and the processor being configured toexecute the computer program to carry out the method for receivinguplink control information as described in any one of supplements 31-44.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for transmitting uplink controlinformation, comprising: a determining unit configured to determine achannel access type of an uplink control channel used for transmittinguplink control information, the channel access type comprising at leastone of the following: a first channel access type not performing channeldetection, a second channel access type containing a detection interval,a third channel access type containing a detection interval and acontention window; and a transmitting unit configured to detect achannel according to the channel access type and transmit the uplinkcontrol information to a network device after the channel is detected asbeing idle, or not to detect a channel according to the channel accesstype and transmit the uplink control information to a network device. 2.The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the uplink controlinformation is transmitted by using an unlicensed spectrum.
 3. Theapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus further comprises:a receiver configured to receive configuration information used forconfiguring or reconfiguring the channel access type transmitted by thenetwork device.
 4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein theconfiguration information is transmitted via a system message and/orradio resource control signaling; and wherein the channel access type isconfigured via terminal equipment-specific physical uplink controlchannel configuration signaling, or the channel access type isconfigured via the system message, or the channel access type isconfigured via the system message and the channel access type isreconfigured via the terminal equipment-specific physical uplink controlchannel configuration signaling.
 5. The apparatus according to claim 3,wherein the channel access type is configured or reconfigured for atleast one physical uplink control channel resource via radio resourcecontrol signaling; and wherein at least two physical uplink controlchannel resources are independently configured with the channel accesstype respectively, or formats of at least two physical uplink controlchannel resources are independently configured with the channel accesstype respectively.
 6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein thechannel access type is determined at least according to a format and/ora duration of the physical uplink control channel resource.
 7. Theapparatus according to claim 3, wherein the channel access type isconfigured or reconfigured for at least one kind of uplink controlinformation via radio resource control signaling, the uplink controlinformation comprising at least one or more of the following: hybridautomatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback information, channel stateinformation, a scheduling request; wherein at least two kinds of theuplink control information are independently configured with the channelaccess type respectively.
 8. The apparatus according to claim 3, whereinat least two kinds of the channel access type are configured via radioresource control signaling, and one of the at least two kinds of thechannel access type is activated via a media access control controlelement.
 9. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein theconfiguration information is transmitted via downlink controlinformation, the downlink control information indicating a channelaccess type of hybrid automatic repeat request feedback information. 10.The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the channel access type ispredefined.
 11. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein thedetermining unit is further configured to determine that there exists ahidden node of a network device around, and the apparatus furthercomprises: an indicating unit configured to indicate that there existsthe hidden node of a network device around to the network device. 12.The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the hidden node of thenetwork device is one or more transmission devices; and when thetransmission device(s) transmit(s) signals, the network device is unableto detect that a channel is occupied by the transmission device(s), andthe terminal equipment is able to detect that a channel is occupied bythe transmission device(s).
 13. The apparatus according to claim 11,wherein the determining unit is further configured to determine not totransmit uplink control information by using a first channel access typenot performing channel detection, or not to expect that the networkdevice schedules uplink transmission of the first channel access typenot performing channel detection.
 14. The apparatus according to claim11, wherein, the determining unit is further configured to, via firstindication information of the network device, determine to performchannel detection; and the transmitting unit is further configured to,when the channel is detected as being idle, transmit second indicationinformation indicating that the channel is idle to the network device.15. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determining unit isfurther configured to determine at least two transmission occasions ofthe uplink control channel and channel access type of the at least twotransmission occasions; and the transmitting unit is further configuredto, in at least one of the at least two transmission occasions, transmitthe uplink control information to the network device according to thechannel access type.
 16. The apparatus according to claim 15, whereinthe determining unit is further configured to determine a channel accesstype of a first transmission occasion in the at least two transmissionoccasions according to an indication of the network device, anddetermine a channel access type of a second transmission occasion otherthan the first transmission occasion in the at least two transmissionoccasions according to at least one of the following: a channeldetection condition of a transmission occasion preceding the secondtransmission occasion, whether the second transmission occasion iswithin a channel occupation time of the network device.
 17. Theapparatus according to claim 15, wherein the channel access type isindependently configured or defined for the at least two transmissionoccasions respectively, and/or the at least two transmission occasionsare allocated on unit bandwidths having different frequency domains andused for channel detection.
 18. An apparatus for receiving uplinkcontrol information, comprising: a receiver configured to receive uplinkcontrol information transmitted by a terminal equipment, the uplinkcontrol information being transmitted after the terminal equipmentperforms channel detection according to a channel access type of theuplink control channel and the channel is detected as being idle, orbeing transmitted without performing channel detection according to thechannel access type; the channel access type comprising at least one ofthe following: a first channel access type not performing channeldetection, a second channel access type containing a detection interval,a third channel access type containing a detection interval and acontention window.
 19. The apparatus according to claim 18, wherein theapparatus further comprises: a transmitter configured to transmitconfiguration information used for configuring or reconfiguring thechannel access type to the terminal equipment.
 20. A communicationsystem, comprising: a terminal equipment configured to determine achannel access type of an uplink control channel used for transmittinguplink control information, and transmit the uplink control informationto a network device after channel detection is performed according tothe channel access type the channel is detected as being idle, or not todetect a channel according to the channel access type and transmit theuplink control information to the network device; and a network deviceconfigured to receive the uplink control information transmitted by theterminal equipment; wherein the channel access type comprises at leastone of the following: a first channel access type not performing channeldetection, a second channel access type containing a detection interval,a third channel access type containing a detection interval and acontention window.